


starlight hidden in the depths

by April (featherx)



Series: but in the end I will always come back to you [12]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 21:05:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10602213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/featherx/pseuds/April
Summary: Junmyeon works at the local daycare. One day, he meets a passing trainer. (Pokemon AU)





	

**Author's Note:**

> yes, i did have to search through our convo to find that picture you took of your pokemon team @max. worth it. even if none of them did anything

Junmyeon has to literally psych himself up for a good few minutes before he can approach the girl standing outside their ranch. He doesn’t even remember the last time he’d been so nervous to talk to a _girl_ , considering he’s gone right up to steelix without so much as flinching.

Or maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but he’s not going to say anything.

“Good afternoon, miss,” he manages. Good, he doesn’t sound like he’s choking. That’s a good start already. “May we help you? Are you here for the daycare services?”

The girl starts, and Junmyeon realizes she’s holding an exotic pokemon in her hands – a blue and white penguin, where had he seen one before? Sinnoh, right? “Oh, hi! No, I was just…” She waves a hand in the air awkwardly, keeping a firm grip on the sleeping (what was it? Seriously, if he could just remember— _oh_ , right!) piplup against her chest. “I’m waiting for my brother. He ran off somewhere, so I’m just keeping some of his pokemon safe for now.”

“Ah. That so? Would you like to come in, then?” Junmyeon asks, now a little bit calmer that he doesn’t have to talk business with the girl. He always worries he’s going to slip up and the daycare’s going to lose customers because of him. Maybe that’s a far stretch, but it’s probably a legitimate fear. “Or do you want some help with his pokemon?”

She brightens like the sun. “That’d be great! Give me a sec…” She turns around, cups her hands to her mouth, and yells, “Hey, Squirtly! Wolfy! Get back here, you two!”

Junmyeon decides to refrain from commenting on the names when a full-grown swampert and mightyena are bounding back to her like obedient growlithes. Junmyeon gulps and _wisely_ decides to refrain from so much as mentioning the names. On the swampert’s back is a tiny, tame little sandshrew, and the mightyena has a pikachu settled nicely in between its ears.

The girl looks unsure for a moment, before realization dawns on her face and she cranes her neck up at the treetops. “And you two, Flyl, Cassy! Down!”

A buzzing noise, and then a dustox is swooping downwards to land dozily on her shoulder. She pats its head for a second, before looking back up at the tree the Dustox had come from. It takes another few seconds, but then a castform drifts towards the girl’s other shoulder, nuzzling her face before glancing over at Junmyeon inquiringly. “This guy’s, um…"

“Kim Junmyeon.” He smiles. It comes easier than he thought it would.

“Right. I’m Max, by the way.” She grins, then turns back to the little band of pokemon at her feet. “Junmyeon’s from the local daycare. Since your trainer’s not here yet, we’re going to chill in there first.” She gestures at the ranch, where a couple other trainer pokemon are milling around in, and the small crowd immediately starts making noise. “But! No treats unless you’re _all_ behaved. And that means no peeing on the carpet, Wolf.”

Wolfy the mightyena whines and tucks his tail in between his legs. Despite his fearsome appearance, Junmyeon honestly can’t help but wonder if this girl has more authority over them than their actual trainer.

When the pokemon are all settled in the ranch and prancing around in the wide open space, Max yawns and takes a seat on a bench just a few ways away from where the sandshrew, or Sandy, is sleeping. The piplup in her arms had awoken a few minutes ago, and was now staring curiously at its surroundings. “So you work here, huh? Is it a lot of trouble?” She asks, as Junmyeon cautiously sits beside her.

“Not so. Well, it used to be, but you get used to being a breeder. Sort of like a pokemon dad for all the little critters that stay here.” He chances a peek at the piplup, which has hopped out of Max’s arms and is waddling on the bench, staring at Junmyeon suspiciously. “Oh, is this your pokemon?”

Max grins adoringly, and Junmyeon’s somewhat thankful that she’s looking at the piplup and not at him because he _swears_ he blushes a bit when he sees that smile. Is it just him? Or maybe it’s the summer heat in the open-area ranch. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. “Yeah, this is old Pippy. He’s just a dunce, there’s honestly nothing else I can tell you about him. Got him as a birthday gift this year.”

Pippy latches on to Junmyeon’s arm with his stubby flippers and chirps indignantly, as if Junmyeon had somehow offended him by simply listening to Max’s rather unflattering description. Junmyeon smiles, feeling genuine affection for the tiny piplup, and smoothens his downy feathers with his free hand. Pippy tweets again, this time much more satisfied. So all Junmyeon had to do was pet him, then.

“Guess he likes you already,” Max says huffily. “Took me a week to get him to warm up to me. And that’s being generous, ‘cause on good days I can barely get him in the pokeball.”

“It’s not so hard to like you,” Junmyeon says.

For a second, there’s just the pleasant background noise of the pokemon in the daycare, the leaves in the trees rustling against the wind, the chatter of trainers passing by the ranch. And then, with an accompanying thunderclap of realization of _what he had just said_ , Junmyeon frantically stammers out, “I-I didn’t – I don’t – _um_ —”

“Wow,” Max says, looking like she’s ready to start crying from how red her face is getting, “that’s – very, what’s a good word, _smooth_ of you, mister.” She manages a little grin, and Junmyeon finds himself smiling crookedly back, because – well, she’s _smiling_ at him, that’s gotta be a good thing, right? “Hey, I don’t mind. Didn’t. Er, this is awkward.” She’s still blushing, and it’s actually kind of adorable.

Junmyeon erases that thought as fast as he can. It would _not_ do now to develop some weird, stupid crush on a customer. Maybe. _Argh_. “Still, that was a bit… direct. Um. I should—”

Pippy chirps in annoyance and grabs on to his arm when Junmyeon pulls away from the piplup. Junmyeon stares down at him, tries to tug away, and is rewarded with a slap from his flippers. “Oh, ow.”

“Damn it, Pippy, that is _not_ how you treat nice people!” Max drags Pippy back to her lap, firmly but not something that would hurt the small pokemon. The piplup scowls at her and, after a few seconds of struggling against her grip, crosses his flippers and makes a very irritable sound. “There. Better.” She looks back up at Junmyeon, smiling sheepishly. It’s cute, really. “Sorry about that. Uh, did it hurt?”

Junmyeon manages a little smile back, and takes a look at his wrist. It honestly hadn’t hurt that much, but the concern on Max’s face is far too comical to pass up. “I might just get a bruise from this. Oh, calamity! What a mighty foe I’ve encountered…”

“You sound ridiculous,” she says bluntly. Still, she’s smiling in amusement, so Junmyeon considers this a job well done.

When her brother comes calling, apparently having done whatever it is he had needed to do, Max slides off the bench and counts her cash before handing over the bills for taking care of his pokemon, muttering under her breath about how she’d grab his money back later. Before she leaves, Wolfy runs over to Junmyeon’s feet and drops a small sheet of folded paper dripping with mightyena slobber.

Junmyeon ruffles his fur and hands him a dog treat before waving goodbye to Max. When he unfolds the paper, trying not to wince at the saliva, he’s greeted by a short line of numbers and a little heart at the end.

It’s more direct than him, at the very least.


End file.
